China to 1842

North Atlantic pattern of development, Industrial Revolution was a sharp break with the "premodern" world, radical discontinuity, technological breakthroughs were key

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What was China's experience of the global economy under Ming?

Largest economy and pop. of 150m in 1600; Needham: 300 million taels worth of silver; Last Golden Age

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What was China's experience of the global economy under Xing?

"Great Divergence"; hai jin; Canton System 1557-1842

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China's economy today?

Largest trading country; Xi Jinping "Chinese Dream" & two 100s

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Who coined the term "The Great Divergence"?

Samuel Huntington; NW Europe overcame premodern growth constraints and emerged as wealthiest powers in the world

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What's the Needham Puzzle?

Why the Ind Rev did not originate in China?

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Mark Elvin's "High Equilibrium Trap" (Stanford, 1973)

Prime barrier to Chinese industrialisation was the unfavourable man-to-land ratio; equilibrium point where supply/demand were balanced; production methods & trade networks so efficient; labour so abundant & cheap

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Mark Elvin's "High Equilibrium Trap" (Stanford, 1973) 2

Investment in capital to improve efficiency was unnecessary and probably unprofitable

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Mark Elvin's "High Equilibrium Trap" (Stanford, 1973) 3

Combination of low labour costs & low level modern technology =

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Mark Elvin's "High Equilibrium Trap" (Stanford, 1973) 4

No need to innovate technology to increase efficiency/raise upper limit of production

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Thomas Kuhn's "Paradigm Shift"

Daoism-Confucianism moved the focus of inquiry from natural science to morality. Confucianism wasn't conducive to technological innovation.